A Moronic Intruder And The Tricks Of The Heart
by TheRealHedgy
Summary: Rule #1 of interplanetary travel: "One mustn't meddle in the affairs of other worlds." Terra never fully understood what Master Eraqus meant by that, but he was quite certain he'd broken every aspect of the rule to an irreparable degree, thanks to the pretty maiden he'd spotted by a bench.


Terra wasn't a specialist in judging someone at first glance.

If he encountered a pitchfork wielding demon, displaying a t-shirt with the words, 'The suffering of children makes me smile' embedded into the fabric, he would likely still assume they were a decent person, provided they gave no compliments towards darkness. Terra's exceptional naivety was always a cause of great amusement among his best friends, Ventus and Aqua, but he always denied any possibility of their teasing having even a hint of accuracy.

Unfortunately, his simple-minded and gullible nature had become significantly harder to deny, as of recently.

Terra's Mentor and Father figure, Eraqus had entrusted him with finding the missing Master Xehanort. Terra didn't understand how he could be declared missing when they had interacted mere minutes beforehand, but he set off in search nonetheless. He'd found himself a little nervous; after all, this was what the daily reminders about the dangers of other worlds had ultimately lead to. But he stood strong and proclaimed that there was nothing to worry about. What's the worst that could happen? You encounter a witch from hell that manipulates the darkness residing inside you, seizing control of your mind and forcing you to steal the heart of a beautiful, light-filled figure of royalty within the first hour of setting out. And what are the odds of that occurring?

Apparently quite likely. In hindsight, the green skin and villainous smile was a rather adequate indication that Maleficent may not be the sweetest of Sorcerers.

_"So..."_ Terra thought to himself as he drove through the cosmos on his keyblade glider. _"It's been maybe an hour since I left my home and already, I've managed to hand over the devoid of darkness heart of a Princess to a demon. Somehow, I suspect that Ventus and Aqua haven't screwed up to that magnitude."_

Admittedly, this little adventure of the young Keyblade Wielder's hadn't been off to the grandest of beginnings. But that little incident would most certainly be the first, last and only blunder that he would ever provoke. Initially, he hadn't taken his Master's wish to avoid meddling in the affairs of other worlds very seriously. But now there wasn't the slightest slither of a chance that Terra would even acknowledge someone who wasn't born and raised in the Land Of Departure.

Well, as long as they weren't crying on a piece of furniture anyway.

* * *

The moment Terra stepped foot into the forest of a world pompously titled, "The Castle Of Dreams", his ears were met with a heart wrenching sob. He peered out of the corner of his eye to locate the source of the sound, when he noticed a blonde woman kneeling over a bench.

As he stared from afar, Terra recalled all of those late night conversations with Aqua and Ventus about how they imagined aliens would look, should they ever encounter one. He tended to envision giant green blobs with 6 eyes and skin tearing pincers. Yet based on everywhere he'd visited thus far, the universe was apparently filled with attractive blond women.

It surely couldn't have been a coincidence. Was it possible that between every planet Terra could have travelled to, he just happened to land on the two locations with young, female beauties residing in them? He made a mental note to ask Master Eraqus about this when he returned; though he wasn't sure he'd ever feel comfortable enough to ask such a question.

Instinctively, he began walking over to her, both to get a closer look and because why wouldn't he approach a woman in tears?

_'Whoa, hold on a second there, buddy!'_ Terra immediately drew to a halt. The logical side of his brain had suddenly recalled the pledge he made moments before arriving.

_'I know we're eager to show off how chivalrous we are, but you take 5 more steps and you'll have broken the promise you made to yourself a whole 3 minutes and 47 seconds ago. Or are we trying to steal the heart of every woman we bump into? And I don't mean figuratively.'_

He clenched his fist. It was true. He'd already shrugged off his Master's advice before and that had conjured the worst possible result he could visualise. But that mistake was Maleficent's doing, not his. What were the odds of there being another bleach-skinned demon with the power to control keyblade wielders, wandering about this forest?

_'About as likely as a second golden haired model appearing within a few feet of us entering another world.'_

Terra coloured himself impressed. His brain crafted a strong argument when the matter was important enough to require it. Admitting defeat, he began to turn away from the woman, only making it three steps before stopping to question his choices once more. Even if he didn't become involved in the events of this world, was that really worth leaving a girl to cry, all by herself?

At that moment, another thought occurred to him. Maybe this was his opportunity to redeem himself. If he could bring comfort to her, he would atone for the mistake he made in the Enchanted Dominion. Yeah, that was why he'd wound up here. Not to just ignore someone when they were at their lowest. To repent for his actions.

His mind made up, Terra finally began to approach the woman. As he drew closer, he slowly realised 3 separate things. Firstly, that this girl had been involved in some rather unpleasant company, judging from the state of her dress (or what was left of it.) With every step he took, he spotted a different slash in the attire. Secondly, he noticed that in spite of the odd strand sticking out, her strawberry blonde hair was uncommonly pretty and appeared very cosy against her neck.

But most importantly, he realised that he had absolutely no understanding of how to talk to women. Much less those of the crying variety.

Kneeling down, he softly asked, "Is something wrong?" It was a second after posing that question that he recognised there wasn't a dumber set of words he could have vomited up. He might as well have asked an amputee why they don't exercise very often.

Thankfully, she didn't acknowledge the stupidity behind his question and answered him, though without removing her head from her arms. "It's just my friends made me the most beautiful dress. But my stepmother and stepsisters ruined it. And I was so looking forward to the ball."

Terra's breath hitched. He may have only encountered a handful of people in his 19 years alive, but he couldn't even fathom a family member willingly setting out to destroy a relative's outfit, as well as their feelings. Was that yet another showcase of his naivety? Was such discourse between family members a common occurrence? For a moment, the concept of Eraqus, Aqua or Ventus despising him flashed through his head, causing him to shudder. Were that reality, he suspected he'd have a drastically harder time remembering how to smile.

He knew absolutely nothing about this woman's stepsisters or stepmother, yet he could already feel a ball of loathing bubbling in his chest, reserved entirely for them.

"Darkness always finds a way into a wounded heart." Said Terra. As he spoke these words aloud, he made another mental note to himself. When interacting with someone, particularly someone miserable, remember that darkness isn't the only topic people care about. He was only realising it now, but he wasn't sure he'd ever made it through a full conversation without bringing light and darkness into the matter, regardless of how unrelated it was. He must be the most annoying friend known to mankind.

"You have to be strong. Strength of heart will carry you through the hardest of trials." He continued, delicately echoing the wise words his Master taught him to abide by. Though his faith in his ability to cheer the woman up was lacking, he believed that even the slightest chance of his words helping her just a little was worth the time.

"I can't believe. Not anymore." The woman struggled to reply through her stifled sobs. Terra could see the tears trailing down her arms, onto the edge of the bench and felt a light stab in his chest. If he didn't lighten her mood soon, he might just announce that he's going to leave and return with the corpses of her step family. He doubted it would make her feel better, but he was certain at least one of them would feel a speck of catharsis.

He couldn't entertain the idea any further however; for his thought process was interrupted by an elderly voice that sounded like it was emerging from the heavens.

"Strength of heart is important. But that's not all you need."

Several small stars began to twinkle around where the woman cried, followed by a large gust of fog. But before Terra could do anything to erase it, the fog began to take shape. Within seconds, the mist had been replaced with an older lady in a purple robe at least 3 sizes too large for her.

"There's nothing left to believe in. Nothing." Said the sobbing woman.

"Nothing, my dear? Oh, now, you don't really mean that!" This mysterious fairy spoke rather delightedly for someone whose legs were currently being drenched in the never ending waterfall that was this woman's eye sockets. It occurred to Terra that she could be Maleficent's equally nefarious sister, arriving with the intention of stealing another innocent person's heart. But while he could take this opportunity to give her a good old fashioned whack with his keyblade, he wasn't confident in that idea at this moment.

"Oh, but I do. It's just no use."

"Nonsense. If you'd lost all your faith, I couldn't be here, and here I am." The fairy lifted the woman's head from her lap and ran her thumb across her cheek. "Oh, come now, dry those tears. You can't go to the ball looking like that."

The woman stood up and Terra finally saw the front of her face, which was even prettier from the front. Even with the stains of tears, her creamy skin, navy blue eyes and delectable, pink lips carried a scent of sweetness. Though her lovely hair was a little tousled, it perfectly suited her equally pleasant skin.

"The ball?" She looked down sorrowfully at her slashed outfit. "Oh, but I'm not-"

"Of course you are! But we'll have to hurry. Now what were those magic words? Oh yes! Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!"

Everything that transpired within the following minute was so outlandishly nonsensical that Terra could only assume the last batch of unversed he slaughtered had hallucinogenic drugs within their DNA. A small, nearby pumpkin morphed into an elegant carriage, suited for that of a sultan, with 3 magnificent steeds pulling it from the front. The keyblade wielder had never paid attention to magic studies back home, but if this wizardry was what he could be capable of, he may have a lengthy chat with his Master in the near future.

Still, the fairy wasn't finished. With an almost elementary flick of her wand, the woman's severed clothing had been replaced with a luxurious, silver ballgown, complete with velvety gloves and slippers of glistening glass. Her previously dishevelled hair was now in a fancy bun, donning an opulent hair band. The maiden who moments ago, was the torn apart result of outrageous mistreatment was now an unsurpassed beauty who anyone would conclude must be royalty.

Terra felt a little narrow-minded for thinking of her that way.

"Oh, it's a beautiful dress! Have you ever seen such a beautiful dress!?" She exclaimed. Maybe it was his imagination, but as the woman practically jumped for joy in her state of the art gown, Terra felt a bright aura radiate from within her. Unless he was mistaken, this woman contained a heart entirely composed of light. But it had taken an uplift in her mood for him to feel it. Either way, that smallest slither of a shine made him feel substantially more at ease than he'd been since he left his home. A gift that to his understanding belonged to a Princess of heart.

Terra watched her merrily stride into the carriage and depart for the ball, feeling rather embarrassed that his ability to lift someone's spirits were extraordinarily outclassed. Nevertheless, at least he could move on from this little episode and return to the mission at hand.

But first, he wanted to know how in the high heavens this magical fairy performed that entire spectacle and why in God's name did she not appear sooner so he could save himself some embarrassment.

"What did you do? I can hardly tell she's the same person." He asked her.

She jumped a little at his voice. "Who are you?" From her tone, he may as well have been invisible until now.

"Terra." He replied.

"Terra." The fairy stroked her wand, seeming to briefly contemplate the name before smiling once again. "Terra; in your heart, do you believe that dreams can come true?"

"I do. But I also believe you have to make an effort to make them come true." He wasn't doing a spectacular job at hiding his jealousy of not having his own God descend from the sky and solve his problems. Where was his magical Fairy when he publicly ripped his underwear at 7 years old?

"Yes, of course. But sometimes believing in dreams is easier said than done. Cinderella believes her dreams can come true. I wanted her to see that she is right!"

Terra was tempted to respond by saying, "Well, I believe in my dreams. Now give me the Mark Of Mastery please." But instead he asked where the woman he could finally title as Cinderella left for.

"To the royal ball at the palace! Go! And when you see her dancing, you'll know that she believes, and that will help you to believe too." Spoke the fairy with glee. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him, but there was a certain feeling in the elderly woman's eyes that suggested watching Cinderella spin around with some upper class gentleman wasn't the only reason she wanted him to attend this event.

"Well, I do believe my work here is done." She said and began to stroll away from the castle.

"Hold on." Terra suddenly spoke up, as if a light bulb just flickered over his head. "When Cinderella's dress was being destroyed by her step family, why did you wait a while instead of showing up then?"

"I do apologise, but I really must be going." The Fairy replied far too hurriedly for his liking and with a wave of her wand, vanished into the same mist from whence she came. Terra couldn't say he trusted her too strongly.

But as far as he was concerned, there was no reason to ponder on her any longer, because this man had a mission to get to and meddling to stay out of. He was going to walk away from that Castle and search the woods for any sign of Master Xehanort, so he could return home and live the rest of his life in isolation. That sounded like a plan to him.

Despite repeating those words in his head, Terra couldn't help but notice that his feet were not in fact moving away from the Castle. And he knew exactly why.

'_Do not tell me you're actually going with that witch's advice._' The voice of reason in Terra's head spoke once more.

'Unversed are probably wandering around here. Cinderella could be in danger without me.' Terra's heart refuted.

_'Listen, moron. If you go around protecting every single person that has a 1% chance of meeting an unversed, you're going to have to dedicate the rest of your life to stalking random strangers.'_

'But Cinderella's heart was full of light. She might be more vulnerable.'

_'Was she filled with light? Or are you just deluded because you think she's pretty?' _Terra had never thought about trying to punch his own brain, but he might just give it a try. How dare he accuse himself of being shallow?

_'Look'_ His mind continued. _'Just spend about an hour searching these woods up and down for Master Xehanort. If we genuinely can't find him, we'll make a quick stop to the ball to check on her. Sound reasonable?'_

'But what if Xehanort is at the ball right now?'

_'And why in the world would Master Xehanort attend a royal ball, you blockhead?'_

Terra spent many minutes trying to craft plausible explanations for Master Xehanort to be at the ball; but with every scenario he thought up, the more ridiculous they became. What was he even doing? Standing here, finding reasons to attend an event that he couldn't care less about. There were infinitely more important things to focus on and Terra had wasted enough time already. Finally putting one foot in front of the other, he set off so he could bring his mission back on track.

_'Um, I don't know if you've noticed, but we agreed to looking for a missing Keyblade Master and you're walking right towards the ball.'_

So he was. Well, now that he was heading in that direction, he may as well check up on Cinderella as he was advised. He was only going to make sure she had a decent evening, for no other reason than to lighten his conscience. Nothing meddly about that.

* * *

As he advanced towards the Castle, Terra grew nervous. He wasn't sure how long it had been since Cinderella hopped into her carriage, but it was most definitely long enough for a circle of unversed to assault her, capture her or whatever their goal amounted to. He tried telling himself there was nothing to worry about, but his previous planetary travels had unfortunately rendered his worries nigh impossible to quench. What started as a pleasant amble quickly turned into an extremely aggressive sprint as Terra exhausted every ounce of energy in his body to reach the Castle as fast as he could.

When finally, after what seemed like an endless road of bushes and pavement, he found himself face to face with the Castle Of Dreams Fountain. As arrogantly titled as he found it, Terra had to admit he'd never seen a building emanate such a magical atmosphere. The Castle stood taller and prouder than anything he could recall, the silvery walls unparalleled in their richness. It was a beautiful painting, completed by the starry sky that surrounded it. He certainly wouldn't have objected to revisiting this location in the future.

His thoughts were distracted by an unfamiliar noise arising from near the staircase. Terra looked through the distance and spotted Cinderella. But hold on. There was someone... no, something else with her. Something animalistic.

It had to be an unversed.

Without a fragment of hesitation, Terra charged towards the creature, readying his keyblade for the greatest swing he could possibly muster.

"Huah!" He yelled, lifting his weapon, about to slash down on the terrorising unversed.

Except it wasn't an unversed. Upon a second of closer inspection, it was quite obviously one of the horses that pulled Cinderella's carriage. Cinderella had been petting it as a token of her gratefulness.

But she wasn't petting it anymore. She was instead looking in Terra's direction, a look of unmistakable confusion plastered on her face.

This wasn't the best entrance the young keyblade wielder had ever made.

"Oh, it's you. Is something wrong?" Cinderella asked politely, in spite of her bewilderment.

_'We've only got one chance to play this off cool and unless we're speedy about it, we aren't living this down.'_ Terra thought to himself.

Quickly discarding his keyblade, he attempted to appear as casual as someone who almost mercilessly slaughtered a stallion could possibly seem.

"Um, I do apologise. I confused this horse for an unversed and believed you were in danger." He peered toward the horse as he spoke, unable to bring himself to make eye contact with Cinderella. However, he swiftly decided from the look in the animal's eyes that Cinderella's puzzled stare would have produced significantly less ounces of sweat in his palms. He didn't even know horses could stare like that.

"Oh, that's quite alright." Cinderella replied, smiling pleasantly. "Did the Fairy send you to protect me?"

"What? Oh no, I'm-" Terra stumbled, very aware that his face had likely gone more than a little crimson. Why was he here again?

"Oh, you must be coming to the ball as well." Said Cinderella.

_'No, we're not.'_

"Yes, I am." Said Terra. Only half a second later did he realise that if he went with that story, he'd have to spend the rest of the evening dancing with complete strangers and embarrassing himself for no explainable reason.

"Wait, no." God, he was in desperate need of a few improvisation lessons. His currently flustered demeanour was terrible enough, but judging from the misleadingly innocent smile on Cinderella's face, she was taking secret pleasure from his inability to answer a basic question.

Taking a breath to compose himself, Terra began once again. "The ball will contain a lot of people, so I've decided to attend, in case any unversed endanger them."

Cinderella's gaze seemed to suggest she didn't fully believe him, but her smile further brightened. "That sounds like a wonderful idea."

With a sigh of relief and a dose of lightheadedness, Terra took a step in front of Cinderella. "Stay a few feet behind me, just to make sure you're safe."

Assuming she'd heed his advice, the young keyblade wielder was thoroughly perplexed when she stood right beside him instead.

"Didn't you tell me it was important to stay strong?" Said Cinderella. Terra glanced at her, thoroughly red faced. Perhaps he wasn't so awful at lifting peoples spirits after all.

"Oh, um... I guess I did." He clumsily replied, before proceeding to clear his throat. "Well, shall we be going?"

"Yes, let's do so." Said Cinderella,Every time she spoke, there was a sense of appreciation and excitement surrounding her. He hardly knew her, but Terra found her tone eased him.

* * *

"Oh." Said Cinderella as they began walking through the castle hallway. "I never asked your name."

"Terra." He replied.

"Terra..." Cinderella whispered softly to herself, likewise to her supernatural companion. He looked at her as she seemingly decided her thoughts on his title. She smiled warmly. "Would that be Latin?"

"Uh, yeah. Latin for Earth." He felt the title sounded a little grandiose when he described it like that.

"Well, I think it's a lovely name."

Terra's legs almost collapsed to the floor before he quickly managed to regain his stamina.

"Really?"

"Absolutely!" Cinderella beamed, apparently not noticing his stumble. "Is that surprising?" She added.

"Uh, well... I don't know." Terra was now staring at the wall, directly away from her. "I guess I don't really associate earth with anything nice. I think more of rocks or gravel."

His pondering was halted as he felt a tender hand take hold of his arm.

"Oh, but I think it's an extremely profound word. Powerful, masculine, yet ultimately gentle. Forgive my judgement, but I think you've emanated that feeling quite well." Said Cinderella sweetly, bestowing him a gentle stare.

Was a supernova enclosing around this world or was Terra simply feeling dryer and dryer? He'd never been analysed by a stranger before, much less one of her beauty.

After a brief silence, he replied "Well, I think Cinderella suits you as well."

"Really?" Cinderella looked at him curiously, to which he noted how every expression she'd made thus far had enraptured him.

"Yeah. It gives off an elegant and welcoming feeling. I get a sense of gracefulness from it."

Now it was her turn to be taken back. "You do? But we've only just met. How can you tell that suits me?"

Clear hypocrisy aside, Terra shook his head. "When the fairy cast her spell on you, I felt a bright light from your direction. And I don't mean because of your dress. I'm saying that once your spirits were lifted, your heart, entirely filled with light radiated around you."

Cinderella's eyes widened and she placed the hand not on his arm over her chest. "My heart's full of light?"

Terra nodded. "Yeah. Women who are empty of darkness are called a Princess of heart. I've kind of been taught to detect that sort of thing."

Cinderella looked down at herself. "Princess... of heart." She quietly murmured. A moment passed before she peered back up at him and giggled. "Are you sure you aren't just trying to flatter me?"

"Uh, no, I'm not." said Terra, stiffly. With another delicate laugh from Cinderella, they resumed their stroll through the palace, side by side, though he noticed he missed her touch.

"Terra, what were those... things you're trying to protect me from, again?" Asked Cinderella.

"Oh, the unversed. They're a bunch of creatures that have spontaneously appeared in different worlds. We don't know what their goal is, but-"

"Different worlds?" Cinderella interrupted almost breathlessly.

_'Terra, you screwed it up again.'_

One of the most important rules of interplanetary travel; don't let people know you're an interplanetary traveller. Terra could swear he was better at keeping his mouth shut than this. Either Cinderella knew exactly how to worm her way into his mind or something was disrupting his thought process. He had a decent hypothesis as to why it was probably the latter.

"Well, when I say different worlds-" Terra didn't know why he was bothering. How could anyone come back from outright announcing that they can and have hopped from one planet to the other?

"Never mind. Let's keep going." He said, but his words seemed to fly right over Cinderella's head.

"Are you some sort of space knight?" She asked.

"Space knight!?" Terra stammered. He couldn't imagine many people taking him seriously if he declared himself 'Terra the Mighty Space Knight'. "No, I'm just - I don't really go by any royal title."

"But you do travel around various worlds, protecting people, don't you?"

"No. I mean, yes. But I don't plan to make a habit of it." Terra suspected that it didn't matter what sentence he stumbled together, that title was now how Cinderella saw him. He supposed there were worse ways to be perceived.

* * *

It was some time before they finally arrived at the ballroom of the palace. A seemingly endless congregation of men and women had already taken up the empty space. The area was mostly comprised of dancing couples, but there were also a large amount of women to the side, staying patiently still like they were waiting for something. Terra observed how fashionably and smartly dressed everyone was and found himself feeling rather self conscious.

"Oh my lord. Have you ever seen such a magnificent building before?" Said Cinderella, unable to keep her eyes on a single piece of the richly designed area. Terra pondered how she would react if he told her that he'd spent his entire childhood raised in a castle and lightly chuckled to himself.

As they stepped further into the dance floor, Terra was quick to notice a great number of heads turning in Cinderella's direction, one after another. It seemed not every maiden could afford a fairy styled makeover. As a result of standing right next to the current centre of attention, he didn't think he could feel any more out of place if he was a snail at a horse racing contest.

Terra looked back at Cinderella and was immediately stunned to find that in the mere seconds he'd looked away, a tall, raven haired man had silently dashed right towards her and taken her hand. "Excuse me, madam. May I ask of your name?"

"Oh! Um, My name is Cinderella." She appeared quite startled, but Terra was confident the man would agree that only made her look sweeter.

"Cinderella. Cin-der-ella." The man repeated the name with such lethargic enthusiasm that Terra almost expected a colossal explosion within the confines of his underwear. This was probably a good opportunity to search the ballroom for anyone who may have spotted Xehanort. A likely possibility, as the Master was universally renowned for his ability to perform a fabulous waltz.

Terra walked away from the dance floor, catching the words "Would you be so kind as to bless me with a dance?" followed by a flustered "A dance? Well, if you insist." He felt a slight sting in his chest, but ignored it. He had a mission to get back to.

It was an entire 4 minutes before he gave up. He wasn't sure what he expected from asking in an area like this, but after being given one judgemental expression after another from every smartly dressed person he asked, he finally gave in to the reality that he had no reason to be here.

Terra returned to the dance floor. If he was leaving, he at least wanted to let Cinderella know. It simply felt improper to vanish without bidding her farewell. But to his dismay, Cinderella still seemed deeply invested in the stranger who had wasted no time courting her.

Though they weren't dancing any longer. In fact, upon closer inspection, Cinderella appeared to be loosening her firmly gripped hands from the smitten fellow. Terra glanced to her face, which was smiling tepidly, as if she was trying to remain polite.

Eventually freeing her hands, she scanned the room, likely aware of the embarrassment of her little predicament. Terra's eyes met with hers. Hurriedly mouthing something to the man, she grasped the helms of her dress and dashed over to Terra. He suspected the man's eyes were tearing into his skin, but he had zero attention left for him.

Once she reached him, Cinderella's expression of uneasiness was quickly overshadowed by a smile of unabashed delight. She wrapped her timid hands around one of his own. Terra was puzzled by her action, but he intended to inform her of his departure nonetheless.

"Cinderella, I just came to say I need to... lea..." The rest of his sentence died in his throat as she guided him deeper into the dance floor, not a single word of his having reached her ears. Once she located a spot she seemed to like, she turned to him, a wondrous grin shining on her face. Still not uttering a syllable, she took hold of his free hand and placed it at her waist. Terra swallowed.

Well, so much for that plan.

* * *

Terra wasn't sure how he'd managed to fall into his current situation. He had attempted to retrace his steps, but it was quite difficult to focus while attempting to avoid stepping on the silk of a woman's dress, simultaneously maintaining eye contact with their angelic face.

"I think you're starting to get the hang of it." Said Cinderella, lightly giggling. Terra half-smiled in return, unsure if she was being sincere or making a good-natured jab. He was almost starting to wish she'd slip up in front of him, just so he wouldn't feel so wrapped around her finger.

"I feel bad for you. You've wound up with the only dance partner who was born with two left feet." He replied with a playful smirk. Indeed, he had noticed that every other male in the room had waltzed like they attend royal balls on a routinely basis.

Cinderella grinned. "How bold of you to assume I want a faultless partner. I suppose it feels nicer, but wouldn't you say there's more charm to an experience like this?"

Terra was continuously amazed by her. He felt he could reveal any one of his flaws to this woman and she'd effortlessly deflect it into something positive. He'd assumed a woman as aesthetically perfect as her would desire a flawless night that could only appear in dreams. He was now realising that it was in fact the little quirks and stand outs that truly mattered to her. Her fantasies were perhaps not as proper as he assumed.

The two of them continued swaying to the leisurely music. Terra had never understood what joy one could derive from an activity like this; to him, it had seemed frightfully dull and boring. But as they moved together as one, he found himself more relaxed than he'd been in a long while. Though he hesitated to believe dancing was the only contribution.

"You remind me of a boy, I met." Said Cinderella, dreamily.

"A boy you met?"

"Yes. He appeared out of nowhere, exactly like you did. In fact, his clothing was strikingly similar in design to yours as well."

Terra's heart skipped a beat.

"You met Ventus?"

"Oh, is that his name?" Cinderella seemed to mull over the boy's title, before smiling. "I see your parents have a passion for Latin elements."

"Oh no, we're not brothers." Said Terra. "Did he say why he was here?"

"I don't believe so. When I first saw him, I confused him for a mouse."

Terra subconsciously halted their dancing for a split second, in order to digest the insanity behind her statement. "Um... how exactly?"

"Well, he was practically identical in height to the mice in my house. But from how he acted, I don't think he was used to being that size." Cinderella spoke every word as if the subject matter was no stranger than discussing how to organise a filing cabinet.

He wasn't sure whether to imagine a mouse-sized Ventus or a Ventus-sized mouse. Either way, he was greatly looking forward to having that conversation with him when he returned home.

"I've never encountered someone sweeter than that boy." Cinderella continued. "He offered to gather the materials for my dress without even being asked. He and Jaq got on delightfully."

"Yeah, that sounds about right. There's not an inch of his heart that isn't filled with good will." Terra smiled warmly as he let go of Cinderella's hand, allowing her to elegantly twirl, her dress magnificently spinning with her before she joined with him once more.

"He sounds like he means a lot to you." Cinderella smiled with him.

"He's my best guarantee of a smile." Said Terra, earnestly.

His grin wavered as he recalled their last interaction. "He yelled my name before I left for other worlds, but I didn't say anything. I should have listened to him before leaving. I should have checked what he wanted."

"I wouldn't worry. If he really needs you, all he has to do is simply continue believing. And his heart will lead himself right to you." Said Cinderella. Terra had always followed by that very same motto, but hearing it from her eased his worry.

"Yeah. You're right."

"He's very lucky to have someone like you in his life." Cinderella cordially added with such tenderness in her tone that Terra felt himself gulp. He barely managed to utter a quiet, 'thank you' in response.

Their exchange in conversation dwindled to a comfortable silence that neither wanted to break. As they delicately swayed to the soft melodies, the atmosphere of the castle, as well as time itself seemed to disappear. It was as if the universe had ceased to matter as Terra danced with Cinderella, only breaking eye contact when he allowed her to twirl with unparalleled grace. He wondered if she felt as he did.

Without realisation, they'd danced their way out of the palace, having to separate in order to stroll down the stairs of the entrance. Side by side, they wondered through the grounds, engaging in conversation over casual mundanities such as work loads and their favourite animals. Occasionally, Cinderella would attempt to ask about Terra's life outside from this world, to which he'd try to shift the conversation to a different topic.

"Can you perform magic as well?" Cinderella asked. He hesitated to respond, before concluding there was little need to keep that a secret.

"Hardly anything impressive. Mostly just basic combat offence." Said Terra. "I certainly couldn't make a dress that twinkles under the night sky." He chuckled, studying her ballgown as it glistened in the moonlight.

"Is there anything you could show me?" Said Cinderella, her shoulders lifting with apparent eagerness.

For the first time since they joined hands, Terra tore his eyes from her and scanned the area around him. A few hundred yards away, he spotted a large, serene pond and entertained the thought of freezing it. Impressive though that would be, disturbing this peaceful environment felt improper. He was sure Cinderella would agree.

Taking his eyes away from the pond, he was about to turn back to her, when his eye landed on a small, deep blue patch, laying in front of a tree. A paltry bed of flowers, nestled in the shadows.

"Hang on." Said Terra, approaching the flowerbed and kneeling before its contents. Each plant was made up of concentric rings of softly pointed petals, curling up to a perfectly round bud. Their luxurious blue reminded him of Cinderella's dress when inside the castle. However, they appeared rather withered. Some of them were leaning forwards, their colours darker than their livelier colleagues.

Cinderella nestled beside him. "Wow." She whispered. "I've never seen such beautiful plants."

Terra looked at her. Her eyes were lightly narrowed, brimming with gentleness. He smiled and raised his hand out to his right. A light flashed in his hand and his keyblade materialised. A little amused by Cinderella's light gasp, he placed the tip of the keyblade over the centre of the flowers. Closing his eyes, he readied himself.

"Heal." He whispered. A warm, green glow surrounded his hands and dissolved as soon as it appeared. Slowly opening his eyes, he gazed forward to see every flower standing prouder and brighter than they must have been in a long while. Smiling, he opened his hand and let his keyblade disintegrate.

"How was that?" Asked Terra, turning to Cinderella who was staring at the flowerbed, her mouth immodestly agape.

"Terra, this is-it's... well it's wonderful! Said Cinderella breathlessly, brushing her hand across the reborn petals. Terra smiled and turned back, repeating her action with a flower in front of him. He traced the petals and delicately made his way down to the stem, when his hand stopped in place. He glanced over at Cinderella and one mad idea swept through his mind. He would have dismissed it, but now she was looking back at him, as aware of his hand at the bottom of the flower as he was.

For a split second, Terra pulled at its root before letting it go and standing back up, finally dismissing the idea from his brain. "Um..." He struggled to think of anything to say as Cinderella stood back up beside him, gazing in his direction.

What felt like hours passed before she finally spoke. "I wish I could learn magic like that." She said quietly.

"Well, maybe you will." Replied Terra, slowly strolling from the flowers, prompting Cinderella to follow beside him. "Not everyone who can cast magic is like me. Maybe one day, you'll learn a spell of your own."

Cinderella smiled in response, though her eyes suggested she doubted him. "Maybe." She added.

A pleasant silence of walking through the forest continued before Terra asked, "If you could cast one spell, what kind of spell would it be?"

As she digested his question, Cinderella's footsteps began to slow down. She stared at him dreamily and he felt his heart race.

"A spell... to make a moment last forever." She said slowly. Terra's muscles tensed and his breath seemed more audible than it was before. Looking at her, taking in her gleaming dress, her unrivalled beauty and the enchanting dreamland that they were the stars of; Terra whispered, "So would I."

Then without prompt, without hesitation, Terra and Cinderella stepped towards one another, closing the gap between them. He linked his hand in hers and lay his other against her waist. She grasped the end of her dress. For a moment, he simply looked into her eyes, before they slowly began to sway with each other once more.

No music was detectable, nor was it needed. The melody of their own movements relaxed Terra more than any sound. As they glided around the forest, Terra realised he agreed with Cinderella's words from earlier. Dancing the night away with her was akin to a dream. A dream come true.

They must have danced over half the grounds before they happened upon a gleaming marble bridge. They broke their embrace to cross it and Terra noted how bizarre his hand felt when it wasn't intertwined with Cinderella's. Though as they slowly paced along the bridge, his other hand was still firmly locked in her own.

They stopped midway along the bridge and glanced over the railing, down into the pond. Looking into the water and seeing his reflection for the first time, it dawned on Terra how out of place he appeared next to the glowing treasure beside him. Yet from what he'd come to understand of her, he knew that this oddity was the kind of fairytale that Cinderella wanted.

Her reflection turned to him and his reflection turned to her. Her eyes stared once again into his. Neither the impeccable creaminess of her skin, nor the lusciousness of her lips had lost their captivation. Terra's mind was locked in an enchantment and he didn't want to break it. He just wanted to be with Cinderella and let their motions speak for themselves.

_BONG_

With a single sound from the tower above them, the spell was broken.

"Oh my! It's 11 o' clock! We've only an hour left!" Cinderella gasped, stepping back to glance above them. Staring with her at the clock, Terra wasn't sure if he was surprised that time had flown so fast or that the stroke of midnight hadn't arrived by now.

"Heavens... why must the most wonderful times always fly faster?" She faintly asked the ground beneath her dress. Studying her in her sorrow, Terra felt a realisation wash over him. He hadn't thought about it since her ballgown appeared out of thin air; but based on the state he'd found her in and his limited knowledge of her home life, Cinderella can't have attended many noteworthy events very often. In fact, her sheer amazement at every step of the castle spoke volumes about how little she'd likely seen of this world outside her own vicinity.

As Terra pieced things together, he felt worse and worse for Cinderella. How thoughtless he was for not talking about it with her.

"What do you plan to do when you get home?" Terra asked. It took the tiniest flash of Cinderella's melancholy expression for the Young Keyblade Wielder to mentally pummel himself for being so tactless. He hoped she would hear the sympathy in his tone, but he apparently learned nothing about word choice throughout the night.

"I suppose I'll go back to my house. I'll resume my chores... as always." She gazed over the bridge's railing. "It'll be like this magical evening never happened."

"Well, there will probably be other balls in the future. This surely won't be the last one." Said Terra, in a brisk attempt to lift her spirits.

Cinderella shook her head. "They wouldn't be the same. I could never find a dress this beautiful again, and I won't hav-"

She cut her words and turned directly away from Terra, her cheeks having turned noticeably pink. But his mind was elsewhere.

He had already crafted the narrative that Cinderella's elderly fairy friend wasn't as heavenly as her entrance insinuated and adding a time limit to Cinderella's only night of happiness provided a lighthouse of fuel to that conspiracy. He gazed at her, racking every inch of his brain for any possible idea. He'd never thought to learn magic with a usage beyond damaging his opponents; which said more about himself than he cared to admit.

He partially considered yelling for the Fairy to show herself, so he could bind her in place until she agreed to making Cinderella's dress permanent, but he didn't expect good results in testing that strategy. If only there was a supernatural entity he could contact that may actually resolve this situation.

And just like that, Terra's eyes widened and he felt his mind accelerate.

"Hold on. There is!"

* * *

Terra walked out of the enchanted castle at an unnaturally fast pace.

_'Okay, okay, here's the plan, Terra. You've just removed the heart of a woman and not just any woman; a Princess. Very possibly the most important person in this world. But no one other than the demon witch saw you and that's how it's going to stay. All we have to do is find an open bit of ground, summon our glider, fly away and never think about this again. You've most likely committed several crimes in a minute, but I'm willing to believe the residents of this world aren't capable of intergalactic travel.'_

Terra continuously repeated this plan in his head in an attempt to steady his nerves. It was almost working until his thoughts were interrupted.

"Excuse me, gentlem-"

"ITWASN'TME!" Terra abruptly yelled with zero idea of who he was talking to or what he was doing. Quite clearly, he hadn't been prepared for conversation at this moment.

In front of him were 3 robed, elderly women, all sporting remarkably pointed hats. Though he didn't find their headgear remotely peculiar in comparison to the tiny wings attached to their backs.

From their perplexed expressions, it also occurred to Terra that his exclamation probably made him out to be the strange one at present.

"Oh, um - I mean, yes? Is something wrong?" He asked, regaining his posture.

"Well, we were wondering as to why you'd just strolled out of the Castle where Princess Aurora lies." Spoke the woman in red.

_'Oh no. If I react badly, I'm going to have to add slaughtering the elderly to my list of examples of world meddling.'_

"I was just- uh, just checking up on the Princess. Making sure that no one has attacked her in any way." Said Terra, adding a light chuckle that he wrongly believed would make him sound more convincing.

"Uh, why are you heading towards the Castle?" He added, attempting to shift himself from the topic of discussion.

"Oh, we were about to do the very same thing." The woman replied.

"Do you know her?" Terra asked, growing mildly suspicious. He'd already let himself be deceived by someone in his short visit, he wasn't about to let it happen again.

"Know her?" The thinner woman in green spoke up this time. "My dear, we're the reason Aurora is as wonderful as she's been since her conception."

"Huh? How so?"

"You mean you don't know? Flora, I thought everyone knew the tale of the gifts we gave to the Princess!" She gestured to the fairy in red.

"Now, now, Fauna. Let's not forget, that was almost 20 years ago." Said Flora. Turning back to Terra, she cleared her throat before speaking once more.

"When the Princess was first brought into this world, the three of us received an invitation from the king to a celebration party. However, we could only attend, should each of us bestow a gift upon his child. And of course, we did. But these weren't just any ordinary gifts, oh no. Fairies like us tend to be a bit more imaginative. I granted her the gift of beauty."

"And I granted her the gift of song." Said Fauna, dreamily.

"But before I could offer my gift," spoke the plumpest fairy in blue, "the Palace was invaded by an evil Witch. A Witch that called herself Maleficent. Out of pure bitterness that she wasn't invited to the party, she cast a spell on Aurora that would guarantee her death on her 16th birthday."

Terra gasped.

"But I, ever the wise one used my magic to weaken the spell. Now, instead of death, she has fallen asleep. Only to one day be awakened by true love's kiss." The fairy in blue finished.

Terra swallowed. He didn't have a qualification in sorcery, but he was fairly confident that an exchange in saliva would do very little for Aurora in the state she's in now.

"Um, so you're like wizards then?" Terra asked, attempting to prevent any awkward silences from occurring.

"Wizards!? Why, we're a 1000 times better than any old, bearded lunatic!" Flora responded, seemingly a little offended by Terra's assumption.

"Yes, I don't think your average magician could make a dress as miraculous as the one Aurora gowns." Said the blue fairy, smiling.

"True, true. But I think the average magician could still figure out that her dress would look much better with a touch of pink." Flora responded, doing little to hide her irritation.

"Oh, you'd probably bathe the entire castle in pink if you had it your way, Flora!"

"Well you'd have to be blind to not realise how much less gloomy it would appear!"

"And this is why the King never took to you when curious about the Palace's interior design!"

"Oh, calm down, you two!" Fauna interrupted.

The three fairies seemed far too engaged in their squabbling to pay Terra any attention, which he took as a perfect opportunity to flee the scene. He prayed they couldn't tell a Princess from a Princess with their heart sucked out.

* * *

"The fairies!" Cried Terra.

"Fairies?" Cinderella spun to him, evidently confused.

_'Whoa, stop right there for a god-forsaken minute, pal!'_ Yelled a familiar voice in Terra's head. He couldn't ignore the logical side of his brain this time.

_'I've kept quiet for the past couple of hours, but this is unquestionably crazy! You're about to break more rules in the span of a few minutes, than the most misbehaving student would in their entire scholarship.'_

Terra was entirely aware of how daft his idea was, but right now, his primary objective was making Cinderella happier. Besides, surely meddling in the affairs of other worlds wasn't guaranteed to conjure negative results. If this operated according to plan, this would only achieve positive results. In a worst case scenario, he'd cast sleep on her and work out what to do from there.

"There are these fairies I met a few hours ago and they seemed just as, if not more powerful than the one who helped you. If I take you to them, I think they'll be able to prevent your dress from disappearing."

Cinderella gasped. "You'd do that for me?" She asked, plainly short of breath.

Terra looked to the side, suddenly incapable of making eye contact with her. "Well - I mean, I don't see why I shouldn't. But I'll need you to step back for a moment."

Cinderella complied and Terra drew back his arm. Releasing a breath, he flung his Keyblade into the eclipsing sky. As quickly as it disappeared, his Keyblade Glider vehicle flew back to the ground and placed itself directly in front of him.

Terra motioned his hand to the back of the vehicle. "Care to come aboard?"

He glanced back at Cinderella, to find her staring at him with an expression that was somehow unreadable, yet had caused his heart to perform a marathon of cartwheels. The slowest of seconds crawled by before she finally began to walk towards the steps of the Glider. He took her hand to help her up, finding that her touch made the cartwheels persist even faster.

Once she was comfortably settled in place, Terra took to the driver's seat. "You should be safe, but I'd still recommend holding on to something." He warned. While he humoured the concept in his mind, he hadn't actually expected her to wrap her arms around his chest.

"I hope you don't mind." Cinderella said in a falsely innocent tone.

Shockingly, Terra did not mind.

* * *

Cinderella uttered very little during their journey, though Terra suspected that was less by choice and more of her losing any ability to speak, due to sheer shock from travelling through outer space. She did, however make sure to supply plenty of gasps, especially when her eyes met with a particularly dazzling landmark. Or spacemark, rather.

Their little journey provided Terra some time to reflect on his situation. He wondered how it would look if a passing stranger noticed this man speeding through the cosmos on a small glider, a beautiful maiden in a poofy ballgown holding on to him. Frankly, he wasn't sure if context made it less questionable.

* * *

He'd been slowly driving through the Enchanted Dominion sky for almost 20 minutes, scouting from above for any elderly women with cones on their heads. He could have informed Cinderella that there was no need to hold on to him any longer, but he concluded it was better to be safe than sorry.

He was beginning to worry, when he finally spotted 3 tiny figures by a small cottage, each bearing the colour of the beings he'd encountered before. He couldn't be certain from his distance, but they were his best bet.

Delicately, he landed the glider near the edge of the woods, behind a row of trees to avoid being seen. Climbing out, he once again raised his hand for Cinderella to take, which she did with a beaming smile. Terra had never felt more gentlemanly, nor had he ever felt lamer. He also hadn't felt another feeling that he refused to identify.

"Wait here a moment. I'll call when it's safe to come out." He whispered, facing away from her and heading towards the fairies.

"No, Merryweather, the joke is the Fairy crossed the road, because - oh, it's you again." Said Flora, her eyes locking with Terra's.

"Yeah, hi. I'd like to ask-"

"And you've brought someone along with you."

"Huh?" Terra's confusion didn't last long, as the sound of the grass rustling behind him gave all the information he needed to know.

He glared in Cinderella's direction, but she was too entranced by the environment and the new company around her to take notice. He found her at her cutest when she was being mesmerised by the scenery.

"Are you lost, my dear?" Fauna called to her.

"Hmm? Oh, no. I'm here with Terra." Said Cinderella, walking to his side.

"Terra?" Fauna peered at the young keyblade wielder, puzzled."What an uncommon name. Though I suppose it does suit-"

"Good heavens, girl!" Merryweather had dashed over to Cinderella in a heart beat. "Where did you ever get such a magnificent dress?"

"Oh. Well, you see-"

"Fauna, have you ever seen a dress as enchanting as this?" The fairy in blue spoke to her colleague, seemingly taking no notice of Cinderella's voice.

"It is rather wonderful," Fauna began, "But a dash of pink would certainly-"

"Remind me to never ask you about anything ever again."

"Merryweather, even someone as stubborn as you can't deny a dress like that is yearning to bathe in-"

"Well, that dress was actually what I came to you for!" Terra wove between the both of them, unable to bear their record breakingly obnoxious chatter. "You see, I'd like you to-"

"Oh say no more, dear." Merryweather interrupted yet again. "I know exactly what you want from us."

"You... you do?"

"Of course." She smiled. "You want to impress your love by giving her an even more astounding ballgown than the one she's currently been blessed with. And you realised only fairies as wondrous as us would be able to help you."

A beat of silence passed before he processed her sentence, followed by Terra's face instantaneously scorching.

"What? No, that's not what I'm here for at all! And she's not my 'love'!" He stammered.

"Well, you say that, but from the way you're-"

"Earlier today, a fairy appeared out of thin air and gave her that dress, but at the cost that it will disappear by midnight, so I was hoping you might be able to cast a spell to prevent her dress from vanishing forever." Terra spoke so fast that he almost expected his tongue to fly right out of his mouth. He took a glimpse of Cinderella out of the corner of his eye. She looked thoroughly entertained.

"But my dear." Said Fauna. "It's already past midnight."

"Huh? Wait, no, midnight on the world where she comes from, not midnight on this planet." Terra continued to stutter. Why couldn't the rules of space be simpler? "In fact, I don't think she has much time left, so if you're able to do this, could you please ask questions later?"

"But I don't understand. Why would the fairy put a time limit on this woman's clothing?"

"I didn't think to ask." Said Terra. He resisted the urge to add, "I was rather distracted by the pumpkin turning into a coach, thank you very much."

"Fauna, I think we'd better fulfil this man's request." Said Flora. "He looks like he's about to explode."

Fauna momentarily pondered, before replying. "Oh, I suppose there's no reason why not."

"Wait, you can really do it!?" Asked Cinderella with sudden zealousness.

"Absolutely, darling. But quite frankly, I don't think your companion would ever forgive us if we couldn't." She said, giving Terra a rather sneering grin. He was rapidly losing any ability to respond.

"Flora, Merryweather; would you please join me? Make sure you stand still, dearest."

The three fairies stood side by side, each taking out their wands. Cinderella didn't move a muscle, yet she looked like she would burst at any second.

"Right, sisters. On the count of 3. One. Two. Three!"

A glowing beam of light shot out of their wands and collided with Cinderella. Continuously, she glowed and sparkled so immensely that Terra had to cover his vision. Just as it seemed she'd never stop shining, the piercing light evaporated and she appeared no different from before.

"There you go." Said Flora, happily. "Your dress will remain divine for all eternity."

"And as a bonus, we've added a little barrier to prevent it from gathering dust. Can't have something so pristine getting dirty now, can we?" Fauna added.

For one heavy moment, no one moved a muscle; a second later, Cinderella had dashed over and enveloped the fairies in a tight squeeze.

"Oh, thank you, thank you! I've never been more grateful for anything in my life! I almost feel like I could fly!"

"That's wonderful, honey." Flora muffled, her face scrunched against Cinderella. "But would you mind loosening your grip a little?"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Said Cinderella, quickly releasing the fairies, leaving them to gasp for air. "It's just - it's like I've been taken to heaven!" She added with indescribable elation. She began spinning around the forest in her dress, baring a smile that could melt mountains. With every twirl she took, Terra's heart bounced like never before.

Finally regaining her stature, Flora said, "Well, while we're happy to help you, I think the gentleman behind the idea deserves a little credit as well, wouldn't you agree?"

Cinderella flipped her face in Terra's direction, but he couldn't see her expression, because he'd instinctively looked away with little intention to look back. He wasn't sure he could feel more tension within himself until he heard soft footsteps approach him.

"Terra, I-"

"We'd better be on our way." Terra looked towards the fairies. "We're both running on busy schedules and I imagine you've got a lot to do as well."

"Yes, it does seem like the two of you have a lot that you want to sort out." Said Merryweather, leaving a tremendously uncomfortable pause before adding, "But thank you very much for stopping by."

"And thank you for the favour." He smiled before finally forcing himself to face Cinderella, who was giving him a look that would require 1000 detectives to decipher the meaning behind. "Let's go, Cinderella."

"Yes." She said, warmly, lacing her arm around his. Terra barely managed to choke out a, "Bye." to the fairies, refusing to look back at them as they headed into the forest. Though he was quite certain he heard a giggle escape one of them.

Neither Terra, nor Cinderella voiced a word as he guided her to the seat of his glider. But as he prepared for lift off, he was very aware that her grip on him was a little tighter than it had been when leaving the castle.

* * *

The clock had long struck midnight, once they returned to the castle's bridge. The weight of the deep night had grown even stronger. Guilt from ignoring his mission was starting to slither into Terra's heart, yet he knew if he bid Cinderella goodbye at this instant, he'd feel exceedingly worse. As he escorted her out of his glider, he noted her expression was still unreadable.

"Are you alright?" He asked, a nagging feeling that their adventure might have been too overwhelming for her to digest taking hold of him.

"I'm fine." Said Cinderella, slowly. "No, I'm much more than fine. I'm - heavens, I'm not sure what an adequate word would be. It's just..." Her words trailed off as she wandered towards the bridge's glistening railing. "I'm not sure if any of this is even real. In one night, I've been given the most gorgeous dress, alongside the most magnificent carriage. Despite my unimportance, I've gained the opportunity to dance inside the royal palace. And such a lovely dance it was."

She gazed upwards at the night sky. "Yet even the Palace can't compare to where I've just travelled."

What had been a paltry assemblage of twinkles a mere 2 hours ago had transformed into a breathtaking myriad of stars, supported by a mystifying combination of darkened violet and azure. Terra stood beside her, the two of them gazing into the endless atmosphere. Truth be told, several pieces of this evening hadn't seemed real to the young keyblade Wielder either.

"Terra." Cinderella faced him, the tip of her gloved finger barely grazing his own. "Why have you done all of this for me?"

He felt his heart pound.

"Well, why wouldn't I? I'm just a friend, trying to lend a hand." He smiled to further drive the lie.

"I... I understand that." Said Cinderella with a tone that wholly failed to communicate understanding. "But tonight has been more wonderful than anything I could have possibly dreamed. It felt so nice when you vowed to protect me. No one has ever cared for my well being like you. And dancing with you was like waltzing through a dream. I'd never felt more blissful; I'm not sure if the feeling could be recreated." She'd begun pacing around the bridge, as if she couldn't hold her feelings together.

"Maybe there are people who believe that's to be expected from a gentleman. Should you have stopped there, it would have remained a wonderful occasion that I'd never forget a moment of. But you've shown me the stars. I've travelled through the skies, beyond where my imagination could ever take me. I've done what almost no other person could ever claim to do. But as if that wasn't enough, my dress; so heavenly that I wasn't meant to keep it for longer than the night's end. But now it belongs to me for all of time."

She exhaled a long breath before continuing in a fainter tone.

"I just don't understand. What I've done to-" Her breath halted as a warm hand encompassed her own.

"And I don't understand why you think I need a reason to help someone." Said Terra, a little impressed by his own gallantry.

"Would you have done this much for any other person you happen to meet?" Asked Cinderella, her eyes telling everything.

His body stiffened. There wasn't a worse question she could have asked. It shouldn't have been a challenging query, because he knew the answer. But there were pieces of that answer he was hesitant to share.

"Cinderella." He began, looking directly at her. "I think your upbringing has given you the wrong impression of yourself. I haven't known you for long, but you're filled with more light and kindness than anyone I've ever met. I don't know how your family is, but I'm confident they haven't given you the treatment and care you deserve. That fairy wouldn't have appeared for any person who happened to be feeling low. She came to give you the happiness that you've worked so hard to gain a moment of. The way I see it, the reason I arrived when I did was to carry on what she started."

Terra couldn't explain how he was bringing himself to say all of this. He hadn't even thought about these words beforehand. Yet it hardly mattered; he found he meant every syllable.

"I understand you might have been raised to believe you aren't deserving of a happy life. And while I don't want to control your emotions; I'd like you to recognise that you're special and deserve to keep some of your kindness and optimism for yourself."

After he'd finished, Terra felt that he should let go of Cinderella's hand. But he didn't. He felt that he should tear his eyes away from her face. But he couldn't. Her face was in awe and somehow more beautiful than it had ever appeared before. It also seemed closer than when he began his monologue.

In fact, her entire body was positioned inches away from his. Her light, yet resounding breath tickled his skin. Terra forgot how to think. All he could focus on was the magical, oceanic shine of Cinderella's eyes.

His eyes fluttered closed and an eternity must have passed before his lips delicately pressed against hers. She tasted softer than silk; sweeter than strawberry. Her nose comfortably nestled against his own. His hand found its way to her waist, caressing her as if she might break at any moment.

Her mouth moved even slower than his, savouring every piece of the feeling. Now and then, their noses would awkwardly collide or they'd slightly miss each others mouths. Terra would have been embarrassed, but believed it didn't matter. All that mattered was the reality that he was kissing Cinderella.

Neither could recall how long ago their kiss began once they broke apart; the sound of their lips parting was all that could be heard. Their eyes were partially closed, yet Terra felt he was seeing more in Cinderella than he'd ever noticed before. The glowing creaminess of her skin, her delectable pink lips, her perfectly framed face, only further enhanced by her flawless hair.

The seconds of studying her face seemed everlasting before she leaned into his once more. This was bliss in its greatest illustration.

"Help! Help! There's a monster in the palace!"

In the blink of an eye, Terra snapped his face in the direction of the castle, his dreamlike condition vanishing without a trace. An expanding crowd of people were sprinting from the building, the women actively attempting to avoid tripping over their ballgowns. Terra couldn't decipher a word any of them were yelling, but the situation was perfectly clear.

"Wait here!" He said to Cinderella and sped towards the Palace. He resisted the urge to look back at her, knowing if he did, the monster slaying would be severely delayed.

It didn't take long to locate the root of everyone's fear. At the base of the staircase, stood an Unversed at least triple his height, though that wasn't what caught Terra's attention. It was the floating violin, trumpet and drum kit, circling the creature, dressed as a maestro. 24 hours ago, Terra might have found this puzzling.

The unversed spotted him and immediately,, its energy skyrocketed into the high heavens. With a flick of its baton, the violin soared in Terra's direction before he leapt above it with no time to celebrate, as a trumpet was speedily aiming for his face. Instinctively, he swung in front of himself, slicing the instrument millimeters away.

It fell to the ground with a clatter, but Terra didn't believe it was finished. Casting a blizzard spell, he froze the trumpet in place, when not even a second later, he slid away from the drums, aware they were pursuing from the loud noise they emitted. Stretching his arm backwards, he threw the Keyblade with all his valour at the drums. A boisterous clang was omitted as they smashed against the marble ground, wrecked beyond reparation. To call the Unversed livid seemed undermining, considering it was currently blood red with steam flowing out of its ears.

Terra had never been more grateful for the speed at which his keyblade flew back to him as he was when the Unversed began charging in his direction, maniacally flailing its baton. Terra blocked every swing with moderate difficulty, but out of the corner of his eye was a violin soaring directly at his hip.

With a great huff, he launched himself several feet away from the Unversed, the violin barely missing its target. Terra was becoming nervous, knowing that if he destroyed the Unversed's final instrument, it might outright implode.

Darting across the hallway, he launched several balls of fire in its direction, only for it to dissolve them one by one. Terra gulped. Somehow, he suspected launching his keyblade at it wouldn't yield superior results.

But before he could think to try something else, an unknown object struck his weapon with egregious force; he fell on his back, his Keyblade flying far beyond his reach. Leaping back up, he scowled towards the violin as it bounced up and down, clearly pleased with itself.

"Fine. We'll do it your way!" Raising his hand out, a glimmer of light flashed in his hand, returning the Keyblade to its rightful place. The violin promptly stopped bouncing. He lifted his weapon into the air and a large whirlwind instantly materialised where the instrument stood, juggling it mercilessly. Leaping into the air, Terra raised his keyblade and struck the violin down.

He turned to the Unversed, expecting it to lunge at him with fury like he'd never witnessed. But instead, it raised it's hands and moved them in slow, circular motions. Terra couldn't make sense of its action, until he noticed the instruments slowly begin to rise back up, a glowing green aura encompassing each of them. His heart started racing even faster.

'He's healing his weapons. But that means he's open!'

Without another second to waste, Terra charged at the Unversed and bracing his Keyblade, leapt from underneath it and slashed directly through its stomach. Then just for good measure, Terra took advantage of his moment in midair and struck back down through its head.

The creature fell to its knees with a thump and by the time its head neared the floor, it had disappeared into the darkness, alongside the rest of its body.

Wiping sweat from his forehead, Terra scanned the ground floor for any signs of other patrolling unversed or damages to the building. However, it almost appeared as if the giant creature was never there to begin with.

"Great Scott, my boy! What a tremendous show you performed there!"

Terra turned to the entrance hall to see a tall, lanky man, sporting a moustache that seemed to wrap around his entire head running towards him. Based on his gleaming attire, he must be a royal figure here.

"I must say, I'm rather bothered that only I and that other maiden were the only ones who got to witness such a marvellous display of action!" He boisterously stated.

"Uh, it's nothing." Replied Terra. "Is everyone else okay?"

"Of course!" The man turned to the entrance and yelled, "You can all come in now! The monster has been slain!"

After a momentary pause, crowds of stylishly dressed people emerged through the gates with Cinderella leading the line. Terra would have been worried about the attention he'd garner from this large crowd, but Cinderella running towards him, endearingly grasping the front of her dress was the only focus of his mind.

"Do you still refuse to think of yourself as a knight?" She beamed at him.

"Considering I accomplished more than most of the knights here could, I don't think the title suits me." Said Terra, smirking.

Cinderella giggled. However, her amusement soon faded as she stepped towards him, reducing the gap between them. Terra's mind lost itself once again as she placed a hand on his shoulder and softly closed her eyes. Terra couldn't have named a purer sight to behold before his own eyes sealed themselves.

"Ladies and gentlemen! May I present to you; your saviour!"

Without warning, Terra's arm was forcefully seized and he was pulled in front of the eternally growing crowd by the lanky, clearly fanatical man. As rapturous applause surrounded the ballroom, Terra decided he was as talented at staying out of trouble as a mutated rhinoceros was at winning beauty pageants.

Terra turned to the lanky man. "Uh, listen. Thanks and all, but I'm not really interested in any gratitude."

"Oh, but surely you must want some acknowledgement of your bravery!" The man continued to bear a grin from ear to ear.

"It's really not a big deal, honestly." Terra heard a concealed laugh from behind him and decided that being swollen by a black hole from within the ground would be a wonderful absurdity right about now.

"Well is there anything else we can do for you, my boy? There has to be at least one form of reward we can offer you."

"A reward?"

"Yes! Provided its within the capabilities of this palace, of course. A mountain of money, a priceless diamond, a statue in your name, an invaluable set of clothing, a brand -"

Terra wasn't listening. He glanced back at Cinderella and for one ridiculous moment, imagined requesting the most fairy tale prize he would ever envision. However, he had a better idea instead.

He turned back to the man. "Actually, there is something you can do for me."

"There is? Well, don't leave us in anticipation, let's hear it!" The man replied, utterly delighted. Terra was inclined to believe overwhelming joy was his only emotion.

"I need you to give a home." Terra turned to Cinderella. "To this woman, over here!"

She gasped.

"Terra-"

"Her name is Cinderella." Terra continued. "And she doesn't have a home to return to. I'd like you to give her a place in the palace to stay. Can you do that?"

The lanky man peered over at her. "Well, we absolutely have enough spare bedrooms. I certainly don't see why not. In fact, I'd say she seems fit for royalty already! Would that be alright with you, dear?"

Cinderella's mouth was agape.

"I... well-yes, of course, but-"

"Marvellous then! We'll make arrangements later tonight! Anything else you desire, my boy?" The man said, spinning back to Terra.

He briefly humoured the idea of asking the entire party if they knew where Xehanort was, but he didn't feel in the mood for the pointless agony. "That'll be everything, thanks."

"Very well. My, what an eventful night it's tur-"

"Excuse me a moment!" Soft hands suddenly clasped Terra's arm.

"Yes, dear?" Said the man.

"Could you please let us have a few minutes? We need to, um, discuss a matter or two." Cinderella spoke noticeably hurriedly, compared to what Terra had grown accustomed to.

"Of course, of course, take all the time you need! I need to reorganise the guests, anyhow! Alright, ladies and gentlemen, may we enjoy what is left of the ball!"

As soon as the attention diverted from them, Cinderella somewhat forcefully guided Terra into a nearby alcove under the stairs. Terra was puzzled, but that confusion rapidly manifested into worry. Had he made a mistake in trying to provide her a different place to stay? Was he managing too much of her life for her?

Once she'd positioned the two of them out of sight, Terra spoke up.

"Listen, Cinderella. If you don't wan-"

His words were cut off as Cinderella placed a hand on his shoulder and kissed him with considerably more vigour than their previous lip lock. A reliable method of taming his concerns.

The moment they broke apart, Cinderella spoke without the tiniest pause. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll never be able to put into words how much this means to me. I can't even describe how I'm feeling right now! I might just burst at any moment!"

She apparently realised the daze he was in when he didn't instantly reply. She took advantage and gave a deep inhale before she continued, her intensely joyous posture easing itself.

"But Terra, I need to ask you something important."

Terra lightly nodded in response. Cinderella suppressed a grin.

"Your home. The place you come from. If you don't mind me asking; do you plan on living there forever?"

The question efficiently brought Terra back to reality. He raised an eyebrow, perplexed for the 73rd time this evening. Did he want to stay in the Land Of Departure until he died? He hadn't ever contemplated it; the concept of leaving had seemed too alien to question. Only now, the question seemed riddled with complexities.

On one hand, there's nowhere quite like home, he supposed. However, he couldn't rely on Eraqus to raise him forever and the universe surely bared far prettier places to reside in than there. He'd been an adult for a while now; maybe it was time to start considering his future housing. Though regardless of the plans he may conjure, he'd have to earn the title of a Keyblade Master before touching any future aspirations.

But more importantly, why was Cinderella posing this question now? Terra had a theory, one he desperately hoped she would debunk. Undoubtedly, she understood he had an important mission to complete and couldn't stay here with her. Then again, he hadn't accomplished his task of seeming like a busy man to her very convincingly thus far.

"I... I don't know, I haven't really thought about it hard enough." He finally replied. "But Cinderella, I can't just stay here forever. I've got a lot on my plate right now and-"

"I know, darling. I don't want you to stay with me." She genially interrupted.

Terra was mildly offended.

Cinderella paused momentarily, then giggled. "Well rather, I don't expect you to stay with me. I don't know what you intend to do, but I understand it's of vastly more importance than me."

"That's not-"

"Don't think I'm jealous. I promise that isn't the case." She lightly chuckled again before her face grew somber. "All I want to know is if you plan on returning once your duties are fulfilled."

"Of course I will." Said Terra instantly. He quickly understood that wasn't a wise promise, especially on account of the laws of travelling through space. Cinderella was inadvertently making him lose control. Though he found it laughable to insinuate he hadn't already misplaced almost all sense of reasoning.

She smiled warmly. "Then I must ask something of you." She placed her hands around his, not averting her gaze from him. "To prove that no matter how far apart we are from one another and no matter the burdens that fall upon us, we will always return to each other; Terra. Will you take me to be your bride?"

All the oxygen in the room seemed to evaporate.

Terra was strikingly aware of how questionable and irresponsible his actions during this evening were, but he'd managed to consistently justify each of them in his head thus far. But this wasn't just crossing the line, this was bouncing 1000 feet over the line on a malfunctioning Pogo stick. Marriage? To a girl he'd known for a single night? How could that possibly be a good idea?

Just because Cinderella was the most gorgeous sight he'd likely ever behold, her voice was more soothing than the gentlest waterfall, she inspired him without even trying, her words made him feel more self assured than anyone else could, the pure light from within her eased him effortlessly, every single motion she made caused his heart to perform an acrobatic ceremony, she was as close to the perfect woman as anyone could conceivably be and Terra would undertake seemingly anything to make her smile for a second did not present her proposal as anything other than nonsensical.

But apparently, if the sound that escaped Terra's lips were any indication, his mouth strongly disagreed. He certainly won't be forgetting the expression her face took afterwards at least.

* * *

"How did I get here?" Terra asked no one as he adjusted the collar of his priceless tuxedo for the first time in 12 seconds. Either this was the most scorching article of clothing he'd ever been misfortunate enough to wear, or he was merely the slightest bit anxious.

He watched the hundreds of men and women, settled in their chairs, some conversing about who cares what, while others performed a horrendous job of pretending they weren't staring directly at him. Terra had yet to attend a wedding other than his own, but weren't you meant to invite people you share a personal connection with, instead of whoever just happened to be in the area at the time? Terra could imagine few scarier fantasies than Aqua or Ventus bearing witness to the situation he was centred in, but at least they would formulate a significantly tinier audience than his current congregation.

"Would you like another batch of handkerchiefs, sir?" Asked a strapping man in armour, who Terra assumed to be a guard.

"That'd be good." Said Terra. Within the last 10 minutes, his face had been so endlessly pouring with sweat that he'd collapsed a multitude of handkerchiefs at an unrivalled speed. He'd be extremely nervous about his odor if he didn't have a spell or two for such a concern.

"Right away, sir!" The guard bowed and wondered away to his colleagues. Among many other issues, Terra didn't approve of how high the budget was for this wedding. It was one thing to position a row of security at every corner, it was another to have a professional orchestra, comprised of at least 50 people seated a short distance away from him. And was it truly necessary for the palace to be so tall? Terra swore every time he glanced upwards, the ceiling somehow moved further away from him.

He was tempted to grab Cinderella, run off to practically anywhere else and get married there instead. He assumed the groom was supposed to have a little input, regarding how his big day is arranged; though he shouldn't be surprised that royalty thinks it knows better.

He wondered what Cinderella was doing. The Grand Duke stated they were going to bless her with the most glamorous, pristine dress that anyone would ever witness, to which Terra laughed. They weren't going to find a gown more heavenly than what she entered the castle in. She was going to follow the red carpeted aisle, appearing exactly as she had for the preceding 4 hours and he'd steak his keyblade on it.

It seemed impossible, but the image of Cinderella walking down the aisle, ready to promise the rest of her life to Terra rendered him even more breathless. He couldn't fathom how he was going to withstand the next hour or so without fainting. He was grateful that the Duke had agreed to cutting the speeches and the meals, leaving only the main event and the dancing. Not only because it was already deep into the night and everyone was probably tired by now, but also, presenting a speech to a crowd of people you know nothing about as well as retelling your history with a person you've known for 4 hours was a task that neither he nor Cinderella were willing to challenge.

Terra's mind shifted to Aqua and Ventus. Whatever adventures they indulged in, he was certain they would make for less interesting stories than this nonsensical tale. Though should they ever ask him about what he experienced in other worlds, he'd better have the most faultless lie at the ready. He didn't feel too thrilled about keeping his marriage a secret, but he could hardly bear the thought of either one of his childhood friends finding out about this.

"Terra? What are you doing here?" A familiarly mature, feminine voice questioned from behind him.

If Terra had jumped any harder, he would have had to pay for severe damages to the castle ceiling.

"AQUA!" He spun at lightning speed to the voice he could identify in a heartbeat. There was a split second of denial before the familiar, cerulean locks of his sister in all but blood confirmed his fear.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"

Judging by her stunned expression, it may have been a wiser choice to not react so intensely.

"I asked you first. And let's settle down a little, shall we?" Said Aqua, possibly a little overwhelmed.

For the first time in recent memory, Terra thought logically and forced himself to recompose.

"Ahem, yes. Sorry."

"Accepted. Now may I be enlightened as to why you're wearing a tuxedo?" She asked, arms crossed dubiously.

_'Ughhh! You better come up with something fast, Terra.'_

"I... b-because th-there's-"

"And also, why is everyone sitting down? I thought this was a royal ball."

"It is, but - wait, how do you know that?"

Aqua tore her eyes from Terra and glanced around the vicinity.

"Everyone's fancily dressed, we're in what is obviously a ballroom right now, not to mention the sign outside, advertising the, 'Once in a lifetime royal ball' may have given it away." She said plainly.

"Oh. Um, well..."

"Weren't you meant to be looking for Xehanort!"

"Aqua, would you listen to me!?" Terra stammered. "The truth is... I've been given a job here."

There was a silence between them that in Terra's mind felt equal in length to the amount of time it took Ventus to realise that kissing was not what made women pregnant.

"A job?" Said Aqua.

"Yes. A job. I saved a few lives from an unversed earlier and as repayment, they offered me a job position for the night." Said Terra. He tried to appear convincing, but the accelerating sweat was a thundering distraction.

"Alright. Can I ask what your job is?"

He was on the verge of screaming.

"Well..."

_'You've got one chance to not screw this up.'_

"As you can quite clearly tell from the seating arrangements, there is a wedding about to take place."

Like the flick of a switch, Aqua's questioning gaze was instantly replaced with brazen excitement.

"A wedding!?" She squealed, clutching her hands.

"Yes." Terra replied with a smile that disguised 1000 cries of sheer agony. "And it's my duty to make sure everyone is properly seated and abiding by the rules. I can also offer a bit of security, in case another unversed rears its head. Easy munny, right?"

Aqua swiftly scanned the room, before turning back to him.

"That's fantastic, Terra! I'm a little jealous I didn't get this opportunity."

He felt like a giant piano had just been lifted from his shoulders.

"Ha, it sure is! Shame it only lasts for one night, isn't it?" He replied.

Aqua returned his smile. "Well, since you're here, I might as well stick around for the time being as well."

"NO, YOU CAN'T!"

The giant piano had not only resumed crushing his shoulders, it was now carrying an even larger organ on top of it.

Aqua appeared even more startled than before. "W-Why not?"

"Because-" Terra was most certainly going to regret saying this. "Because Ventus is looking for you."

Aqua gasped. "He is? But I thought he was looking for you, Terra!"

_'Please kill me.'_

"Well, he was. But he found me earlier today, you see! An-And now that he knows I'm fine, he wants to make sure you are as well. So he ran off in search for you." Said Terra, confident only in the knowledge that his lie had probably at least a dozen holes poking out of every side.

"Really?" Said Aqua, placing a hand over herself. She looked towards the ground, a noticeable degree of sorrow in her expression. Terra felt a mild sting at his heart for saying that, but the possible memories he would make if she stuck around kept him persevering.

"But he's perfectly fine! He just ran off, because you know what he's like. Can't ever stay still for a moment, always has to put his friends first, even when he doesn't need to." Said Terra, adding a chuckle that ideally wouldn't sound as contrived to Aqua as it did to him.

Thankfully, a gradual smile began inhabiting her face once more. "You're right! Well, guess I better go after him. Can't leave someone so young all alone now, can I?"

"You sure can't." Replied Terra. "I would have stopped him, but someone was calling me and Ven's too stubborn to call back."

"Oh well. Guess I better be off. He better be grateful that I'm missing a wedding for him." Said Aqua.

"If he isn't, we can both give an intimidating enough look to make him regret it for the rest of his days." Replied Terra.

She chuckled. "I look forward to it. Well, see ya, Terra." She waved and began running towards the Castle entrance.

"Bye, Aqua!" Terra yelled, proceeding to stand as still as a statue until she was unquestionably out of viewing distance. Once she was, he snatched another batch of handkerchiefs from an approaching guard and buried his face into them, exhaling a sound that wasn't quite a scream, nor was it quite a cry.

Terra couldn't foresee what would occur when the three of them reunited, but he hoped a large enough unversed would be right around the corner to distract them from any potential confusion.

10 minutes passed and everyone had taken their designated positions, eagerly anticipating the bride. Terra believed it to be horrifically unfair that he had to avert his stare from where every other gaze was directed, especially since he held the fairest reasoning to feel anxious. The Grand Duke, who immediately leapt at the opportunity to seize the role of the priest attempted a joke or two to lighten his nerves. His comedy routine was swiftly cancelled, once it was clear the intended effect wasn't occurring.

He tried rationalising it in his head. Surely, everyone would forget about this little event by next week. What's a wedding at a royal palace to anyone? And while this might be a minefield of embarrassment to him right now that he would struggle to explain to anyone, he'd ultimately been blessed with something more special than he ever could have asked for when he started his journey. He couldn't believe a surge of incredible fortune would rain over him and alter his life like this again. And as he pondered this, the waves of denial in his mind were flattened by the blatant fact of which he could no longer deny.

He wanted this.

And when the orchestra burst into life a moment later and he frantically turned round, this became doubly true.

Cinderella appeared no different than she had all night, yet she seemed to shine like invaluable jewellery. He couldn't decipher the grandness of the orchestrated music, he was unable to see anyone in the audience. Cinderella's beaming smile drowned out everything surrounding her as she strode through the aisle. He couldn't understand how he was still standing. Despite the almost comical nature of his situation, Terra could only see himself as the luckiest man in the universe.

With every step she took, reality slammed further into his head like a truck. This was it. This was the most important day of his life. This was the moment where he promised the rest of his existence to another person. The event that he wouldn't expect to happen within the next 5 years was happening before his very eyes. He was getting married. Every feeling he was informed those in his place had felt was overwhelming him. The awe, the adoration. He knew this was hasty. Yet gazing at her, taking in all of her radiance as every moment they shared flashed through his memory; he could never leave his place.

An eternity of audience whispering, instrument playing and Terra's heart pounding must have transpired before she finally joined him at the end of the carpet.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered together..."

The smile Terra gave her was uncontrollable, but concealed behind it, a laugh was threatening to break through. And from the way he studied Cinderella's expression, it seemed she wanted to laugh as well. They both wanted this more than they could vocalise, yet she was equally aware of the absurdity of their marriage. But in spite of that, she was going to continue staring at him with pure devotion and euphoria; the only fact that mattered.

He took hold of her hand and repeated his vows to her. Every commitment he pledged, he believed with all his heart. He wanted to fight tooth and nail to protect her. He wanted to carry her out of the mental abyss when she falls into it. He wanted to bathe her in his warmth when she felt cold. He wanted to compensate for every second she spent, clasped in the chains of her step family. Saying, "I do" didn't require a moment of hesitation as his eyes poured into her.

"Go now in peace and live in love, sharing the most precious gifts you have. The gifts of your lives united. And may your days be long in this world. I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!"

Terra and Cinderella's lips met and in that moment, everything was perfect.

* * *

In hindsight, Terra was rather grateful that his wedding audience was comprised of complete strangers. As a result, not one of them desired to speak to him face to face. For the first time in his life, he thanked the heavens for blessing him with such an intimidating figure. Terra couldn't have delivered a coherent syllable if he tried; his mind was hazier than he knew was possible. The subsequent 10 minutes that followed his wedding kiss were an incomprehensible blur of celebration and fanfare and if Cinderella had let go of him for a second, he'd most likely be frenching the marble floor next.

However, he had little choice but to clear his head, because the ballroom was already being readied for his first dance as a married man. If someone asked Terra how he'd wound up in this cartoon of a situation, he was unsure he could even explain it to himself first.

As The Grand Duke organised the crowd into a wide circle, Terra inhaled. He had little qualms over dancing with Cinderella, but as the spectacle of approximately thousand or so people was another story. He might have brought it up to her, if she didn't look so angelically excited.

Hand in hand, the two of them stepped into the centre of the dance floor; the echo of their footsteps, the only audible sound. Once in place, Terra turned to Cinderella, whose gaze of love had yet to weaken. He was tense, but nonetheless, he settled his hand on her waist, lacing the fingers of his other hand in her own. He looked at her face and his eyes traced over the flawless skin that he utterly adored, though it couldn't compete with her hypnotising smile, sealed within those captivating lips. With every second that he absorbed her beauty, each of his most fleeting nerves gradually dissolved into nothingness. He barely heard the gentle music slowly take up the room, yet with immediate instinct, the newly married couple began to sway in immaculate rhythm. All of space melted away, intoxication from every touch they shared overwhelmed his senses. This was a kind of magic of which Terra could never dream to understand. Dancing with Cinderella made nothing else matter.

He studied her, digesting all that he could of his Princess. In his mind, he retraced all that she had done to make him fall further and further.

Her infectious, childlike wonder.

The magnificence she saw in him.

Their first dance.

Their visit to another world, just to see her smile.

Their first kiss.

From the moment he laid his eyes on her, his brain had nagged and yelled at him to leave before this romantic mess was inescapable. There's no time to gain feelings for someone, he deludedly told himself. It was only now that Terra's heart finally began to take full control.

He could never stay apart from Ventus, Aqua or Eraqus, nor could he abandon his duties. But how could he ever leave Cinderella?

The glamour she saw in everything inspired him. And he knew he inspired her too. It wouldn't matter how long he stayed away; the memory of her beaming smile when her dress became permanent would liquify his soul. The light of her pure heart that sheltered him from all of his insecurities. No being could replace such a feeling.

Light and darkness always stood hand in hand. If Terra was brimming with darkness, maybe Cinderella could be his light.

"Is everything alright, my love?"

Terra blinked for what felt like the first time. Cinderella was smiling with a trace of concern. Glancing behind her, he observed various couples were slow dancing alongside them. The tune currently playing was certainly not the piece they'd waltzed to. Just how long had Terra's mind been completely enamoured by Cinderella?

He examined her puzzled face for a moment before bequeathing a warm smile.

"Everything's alright." He whispered. And then he kissed her.

* * *

2:30 am, the clock had now struck. The guests were finally making their way home, many looking like they'd melt into their bed as soon as they came into contact with it. As far as Terra's energy was concerned, it might as well have been Christmas morning. His feet were beginning to ache from dancing and he almost tripped over his own feet when he spun Cinderella in the air.

A royal guard led the two of them to what would be Cinderella's new home. Neither of them knew what to expect, but Terra suspected they could be shown a dog pound and Cinderella would still find it cosier than what she'd involuntarily grown accustomed to. They traversed several staircases, marvelling at every floor of the palace before they finally arrived outside a bright silver door, sporting a golden handle. Standing to one side, the guard graciously bowed towards it.

"Sir. Madam. Your room awaits you."

Cinderella giggled. "Thank you very much." Grasping both sides of her dress, she gave a small curtsy. Watching her, Terra decided that she could set his home on fire and he'd still feel butterflies doing loop de loops.

As the guard began to leave, Cinderella took hold of the rich handle and slowly opened the door. Taking a step inside, she let out an audible gasp.

"Oh my!" She failed to whisper to herself.

Terra stepped in, curious to see what the excitement was about. What he saw brought a wide grin to his face.

The interior was similar to what he expected, yet he remained impressed. The floor was covered in a spotless, scarlet carpet, complimented by a slightly brighter red on the equally unblemished walls. Centred at the ceiling hung a pure, golden chandelier, carrying a circle of thin candles. And at the end of the room lay a king sized bed, pillows resting on gleaming, silver railing. Delicate, unused curtains appeared at each side of the bed, ready for usage.

Even the bathroom, which Terra could see very little of from his position was glistening with what seemed to be recently cleaned marble walls. But walking over to the left, he could see that all of these were minor selling points compared to what he saw now.

Through the glass doors, Cinderella stood at the edge of a grand balcony that offered the most incredible view he had ever seen. He was standing several feet away from it, yet his eyes were met with more buildings and hills than he could count. Yet they weren't half as mesmerising as the sky full of stars, each one twinkling like a billion lanterns. The mesmerising shine of the moon was the perfect final piece of a flawless painting.

Terra approached Cinderella's side. She seemed stuck in an expression of absolute awe.

He folded his hand over hers. "Amazing, isn't it?"

It was a lengthy, yet wonderful minute before she spoke. "Have you ever seen anything so magical?"

Memories of endless hours of star gazing with Ventus and Aqua leapt to Terra's mind, alongside the beautiful landmarks of outer space he'd encountered. But staring at this world, in its most glorious moment; Terra could confidently admit that this was a view of a different league.

"You know... I don't think I have."

For a while, the two of them simply stood there, basking in the glory of a view that most could only fantasise about. The gentle nighttime breeze had never felt so pleasant to Terra.

"Do you still think this might be a dream?" He asked quietly. Truthfully, he wasn't sure if he expected to wake up at any moment either.

Cinderella smiled, though her eyes showed a trace of sadness.

"No. If it was a dream, you wouldn't have to go soon."

A wave of sharpest ice seemed to pierce through Terra.

He squeezed her hand. "Cinderella, I-"

"I'm sorry." Cinderella turned to look at him, her smile having only grown sadder. "I don't mean to sound so ungrateful. You've done more for me than I ever imagined one man could do. What right do I have to be upset that you'll have to go away for a while?"

Terra gazed at his wife. Only she would view herself as anything other than selfless.

He also couldn't believe how normal it felt to think of Cinderella as his wife. But she was. Just as he was her husband.

He was the one she trusted to bring her out of the darkness. And he could confidently say that there was nothing else he wanted to achieve more. He wanted to atone for every second of her life that was taken. He wanted to show her how special she truly is. He wanted to show her how magical human life could be. He wanted to, as simplistically as he could put it, be a good husband to her.

He let go of her hand and slipped his arms around her waist. Brushing aside her hair, he gently kissed her forehead.

"I'll return soon." He whispered, tracing delicate lines up and down her back. "I promise."

He felt her nestle in his arms and he believed he wouldn't be letting go of her for a long while.

"I know you will." She whispered back. He felt her nose tuck itself directly underneath his chin. Peering down, he saw her eyes flutter closed and he tightened his cradling of her delicate figure.

He tentatively resumed kissing her forehead, stroking his hand through the back of her hair. He felt like he was caressing the gentlest bed of flowers. He then lowered his hand and once again began massaging the back of her dress. Cinderella let out a soft sigh; Terra's heart soared, but his expression didn't alter.

As he brought his hand back up, his finger suddenly collided with a zipper. Terra halted for a moment. Had that always been there? Well, either way, it hardly matt-

"It's alright, Terra." The keyblade wielder looked down and his eyes met with Cinderella's oceanic gaze. They simply stared into each other for a moment, before Cinderella leaned in and gently kissed him on the mouth. Once they gingerly broke apart, she smiled.

"Don't hesitate." She said, a hint of nervousness present in her own voice.

Terra gulped. But he nodded.

* * *

Over the 6 hours he had slept, Terra enjoyed a wonderful dream in which he was teaching a purple hybrid of a giraffe and a rhinoceros to play Fur Elise on the bagpipes in preparation for a concert, taking place on the moon. It was only once the concert began that Terra unfortunately woke up; luckily, this was the only situation in his life that he'd accept waking him up from a dream such as that.

He was barely conscious, but abundantly aware of Cinderella lying on top of him, kissing whatever part of his head she so desired.

"Good morning, my Prince." She said, sweetly. Her hair now laid around the back of her neck, which Terra found he loved even more than her stylised bun.

"I don't recall being a Prince." Said Terra lazily, smiling in spite of his drowsiness.

Cinderella smiled. "Well, I don't recall ever being a Princess. But you hardly hesitated to bestow me that title, did you? Therefore, you're my Prince."

Slowly, she ran her finger along the middle of his face, further increasing his lightheadedness. His eyes followed her fingers, soon taking notice of a diamond encrusted ring enclosed around one. The moment he saw it, he became extremely aware of the small weight his own ring finger was encased in.

Terra raised his finger and delicately traced it along hers. Their rings collided.

"I didn't even notice them before." Terra murmured. His hand danced around hers, lacing their fingers together.

"This is beyond surreal." He whispered.

"It seems like only yesterday that we shared out first dance." Cinderella whispered back.

Instantly, the two of them broke into laughter, louder than either knew they were capable of.

* * *

The sun was slowly blaring through the curtains with noticeable harshness. Terra looked at Cinderella lying over him, in between his legs.

"Cinderella." He began. "I can't put things off much longer."

Her smile hardly faulted. "I know." She brought a hand to his cheek. "I won't stop you. But I'd at least like to make sure you always think of me."

Before Terra could question that, Cinderella was kissing him. Without a second thought, he was tilting his head and kissing her back. He was fairly certain a guard yelled to check if they were awake once or twice, but neither he nor Cinderella paid them any mind.

* * *

Terra spent almost an hour attempting to wash off any possible evidence of acts that would most certainly raise an alarm in Ventus and Aqua's minds. He was quite proud of himself for not giving in to Cinderella's invitation to join him in the shower, though he wagered she was simply messing with him at this point. Nevertheless, all the body scrubs in the cosmos would do little to conceal the ring on his finger and as Terra's primary use of free time involved swinging his hand out in the open, he was fairly certain they'd notice it. The idea of taking it off seemed traitorous, so Terra made a mental note to form an irrefutable line of ingenious reasoning in the near future.

Once he'd gotten dressed, he was greeted with a Cinderella in a less heavenly, but still gorgeous pink dress, with a smile that gave him the impression his hour long shower was about to go to waste. His expectation, however was disproven when she said, "Let me see you off."

"Oh. I was planning on leaving via the balcony, actually." Replied Terra sheepishly.

Cinderella's eyes widened.

"That's even better!" She beamed and giddily clapped her hands together. Terra wasn't sure how anyone couldn't smile back.

Burying all temptations in the back of his mind, Terra walked to the edge of the balcony and raised his Keyblade above himself. A light struck at its edge and a small dome of light swallowed him. A moment later, he became seated in his glider.

Raising himself in the air, he flew in a small circle, so he was now facing the bedroom, hovering hundreds of feet in the air. Awestruck, Cinderella ran to the balcony and leaned over the railing.

"Goodbye, my love!" She yelled.

Smiling at her from several hundred feet in the air, only one thought lounged in Terra's mind.

_'Well, this is the most perfect thing I'll ever do in my entire life.'_

Slowly steering the glider, he lowered himself in front of the balcony railing and kissed Cinderella, sinking his lips as firmly into hers as he could. Once they broke apart, he pressed his fist against his shoulder and became engulfed in his armour. Her expression was the most supreme form of flattery.

Giving a modest salute, he slowly reversed and then sped through the sky. Up and up he went, higher and higher until the now familiar, almost welcoming realm of outer space greeted him like an old friend.

Terra struggled to imagine how he'd solve the conundrum he'd become the centre of. What he did know was Eraqus was most certainly going to think twice about giving him permission to wonder about other planets. Considering that wouldn't even take into account the other heart he'd stolen, Terra couldn't say he blamed him.

* * *

**A/N: When I was initially drafting notes for this oneshot, I imagined it would finish at around 6000 words. Needless to say, I've learnt a lesson or two since then. Fun fact, I started writing this fanfic in February of last year. I've gone through it so many times that I've no idea if any of it is any good anymore. But hey, hopefully sometime soon, after my brain has recovered, I'll be able to come back to this and let my Terrella heart melt. Until that time comes, I'm gonna try and do something productive with my life. If I was Pinocchio, that last sentence would have caused my nose to knock my computer off its desk. I hoped you enjoyed this. Tata.**


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